2012 Macbook Pro Redesign

I can see Apple going with a half-way house approach. Remember when the MBA came out and Apple were very keen to stress that the slimline Superdrive was available to cater for any optical media needs. Nowadays it's hardly mentioned at all. To this end I can see Apple ditching the ethernet and f/w800 ports and bundling thunderbolt adaptors and then 1-2 generations later, quietly stop bundling it.

A hybrid approach with 32 GB SSD (if the Lion uses about 8 GB, that would leave 24 GB for apps) - this could be soldered onto the logic board and still leave room for a standard HDD. Even the current chipset supports this so I would expect to see this as standard.

I don't think the 13" will get discrete graphics - the Ivy Bridge GPU will be a step up from the current IGP.

In all likelihood Apple (and other manufacturers) will already have working samples of Ivy Bridge chips so they can get an idea of the thermal requirements. If there is a redesign, it makes sense to wait for Ivy Bridge as the new chips will have a lower TDP for the same power which would allow thinning down.

For the 13" here's what Apple can and should add easily:

• 
  1440 x 900 "High Res" Option with Glossy and AG
  USB 3.0 standard
  Stock 128GB SSD
  No Optical Drive, instead a standard 320GB 5400RPM (reliability & heat) HD
  Ivy Bridge Processors
  Faster GPU

For the 15":

• 
  1080P Screen Option
  USB 3.0 standard
  8GB Standard RAM
  Stock 128GB SSD
  No Optical Drive, instead a standard 500GB 5400RPM (reliability & heat) HD
  OR
  Stock 256GB SSD
  Bluray Drive (doubtful, most likely a superdrive will be offered)
  Ivy Bridge Processors
  Faster GPUs

I figure the 2012 line will be the last with mechanical harddirves as Apple will push SSDs along with their iCloud for storage in 2013.

prochembro said:

For the 15":

• 
  1080P Screen Option
  USB 3.0 standard
  8GB Standard RAM
  Stock 128GB SSD
  No Optical Drive, instead a standard 500GB 5400RPM (reliability & heat) HD
  OR
  Stock 256GB SSD
  Bluray Drive (doubtful, most likely a superdrive will be offered)
  Ivy Bridge Processors
  Faster GPUs

I figure the 2012 line will be the last with mechanical harddirves as Apple will push SSDs along with their iCloud for storage in 2013.

Click to expand...

I agree with pretty much everything, and I share doubts that Bluray will ever make it in. It is rapidly becoming an obsolete format, what with so much streamable/downloadable HD media (including iTunes rentals), not to mention that there are licencing fees that simply wouldn't make sense this late in the game.

yusukeaoki said:

I don't really want a redesign.
Apple seems to fail on new stuff.
Like when the first design of MacBook came out.
The lid ended up breaking the body.

The new 2011 AMD seems to have problems with some user and the NVIDIA seemed to be fine.

So my guess is 2012 design might be a failure.
I might have to see for 2013.

Click to expand...

Dude.

My Wish List

Since SSD caching is part of Intel's newest chipset for desktops (Z68) I would say there is a pretty good chance it will end up in mobile (Read here: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4329/intel-z68-chipset-smart-response-technology-ssd-caching-review/2 ). Furthermore, I believe other manufactures have announced plans to include it in their laptops, and apple isn't one to be left out.
I don't think the macbook pro's will be much thinner (remember, then unibodies were are only 1mm thinner than the previous generation MBPs). I do hope that they will get rid of the optical drive in the 13 inch and give it discrete graphics and a bigger battery. That being said, here is my wish list:

On all models I want to see improved cooling, especially under boot camp - this is a necessity, I need it for work and if it doesn't run well I will be forced to get something thicker and may by a less reputable brand (I also don't want to carry two machines around).

13" MBP:
Option of Dual or Quad Core i7
Discrete graphics (AMD 7750 or better)
More Ports!
-2 USB ports is not enough, I want 3 of them or more. and I want them at a usable distance.
-2 Thunderbolt ports, or include an adapter to easily hook 2 monitors up to 1 port - otherwise what's the point of an AMD card with eyefinity?
-Gigabit ethernet (duh...)
-Maybe an express card slot, although thunderbolt takes care of this
-E-Sata! Just one port is all I ask. I have a 10TB external I use with my laptop. I would like to keep using it.
Better screen 1680*900 IPS or better!
4 - 8G RAM DDR3 1600
No OPTICAL DRIVE! - to everyone who thinks this makes it too similar to an air, look at the graphics & processor - those are why people get a mbp instead of a mbp, not the optical drive.
15/17" MBP
I expect these will keep the Optical Drive and feature higher res screens and faster processors. Not much more though. They may be offered with the option of a second hard drive instead of the optical though.

If apple does all of this it's a no questions asked 0-day purchase of a 13" mbp.

I would like to see the MBP to have support on external usb 5.1 sound cards...

to tell you the truth I dont really care about the redesign. I am just happy with my 2011 unibody
Although it would be cool if it came with a blu-ray drive that would never happen, and possibly a HDMI port instead of using the minidisplay port/thunderbolt port.
Possibly USB 3.0 but I highly doubt it.
Design, im fine with the same unibody.
I want some real internal change more than the body.

If they can make the 15" MacBook Pro lighter, it would be a nice improvement [though I'm not sure I would need the upgraded parts]; otherwise I'm content with the current design.

macbookprodad said:

I would like to see the MBP to have support on external usb 5.1 sound cards...

Click to expand...

The MacBook Pro does support external sound cards; many of the Creative external sound cards work along some Firewire based solutions as well.

yusukeaoki said:

tpossibly a HDMI port instead of using the minidisplay port/thunderbolt port.
I want some real internal change more than the body.

Click to expand...

What?! is there something wrong with you? the adapter costs 20 bucks. And you would rather have HDMI INSTEAD of TB?!!!!
Ya lets have some real change.
How about make the optical drive read audio CD's only.
and hmm, lets also go back to single-touch trackpads.
Who needs all of these multipurpose luxuries anyway?

duncanbrodie1 said:

What?! is there something wrong with you? the adapter costs 20 bucks. And you would rather have HDMI INSTEAD of TB?!!!!
Ya lets have some real change.
How about make the optical drive read audio CD's only.
and hmm, lets also go back to single-touch trackpads.
Who needs all of these multipurpose luxuries anyway?

Click to expand...

Talk about off the deep end, the point is that to hook up any real world external monitor, we need to buy a $20-$30 adapter, sometimes multiple!

The 13" MBP is about to get the boot, IMHO. New mobile line up:

11" MBA
13" MBA
15" MBP
17" MBP

All computers to carry HR displays, IB, one TB port, 2 x USB 3 and SD (except 11").
MBP to carry above, plus:
*one x FW 800
*discrete graphics
*dual drive, SSD/HDD setup
* NO ODD!
[*17" + one TB and USB3]

Santabean2000 said:

The 13" MBP is about to get the boot, IMHO. New mobile line up:

11" MBA
13" MBA
15" MBP
17" MBP

All computers to carry HR displays, IB, one TB port, 2 x USB 3 and SD (except 11").
MBP to carry above, plus:
*one x FW 800
*discrete graphics
*dual drive, SSD/HDD setup
* NO ODD!
[*17" + one TB and USB3]

Click to expand...

this would make sense imo. kill the plastic macbook as well, that mofo has outstayed his welcome

What is wrong with the plastic macbook? IMO, put the innards of the MBP in the MB (as before) and then kill the MBP.

...

SSD caching would be very nice to see but I wonder where Apple would put it. Given their obsession with size, I don't see them making the laptop bigger just to put an SSD in. MSATA SSDs are small but not that small.

If LG can fit both (SSD + HDD) in their 13" P330 and still have room to fit GT555, Core i7, and make it thinner than the current 13" MBP, I see no reason why apple won't be able to, provided they ditch the optical drive as LG did.

Also, what's all this talk about killing the 13" MBP? I'll admit the only reason it exists is so that apple could have an all notebook line and it's never had the power of it's larger screened brothers, but I think it would make more sense to make it more powerful, not less. Apple has 3 13" notebooks, I don't see them killing off two of them in one fell swoop.

raidedguy said:

If LG can fit both (SSD + HDD) in their 13" P330 and still have room to fit GT555, Core i7, and make it thinner than the current 13" MBP, I see no reason why apple won't be able to, provided they ditch the optical drive as LG did.

Also, what's all this talk about killing the 13" MBP? I'll admit the only reason it exists is so that apple could have an all notebook line and it's never had the power of it's larger screened brothers, but I think it would make more sense to make it more powerful, not less. Apple has 3 13" notebooks, I don't see them killing off two of them in one fell swoop.

Click to expand...

My hope is:
Together with Lion, the MacBook Airs AND the MacBook get updated with sandy bridge and 4gb ram standard. Probably thunderbolt ports too.
Then around january-february-march , the all-new lineup is here! With Lion already being stable and truly the best OS out there, they show us the real deal!
All MacBook Airs, MacBooks and MacBook Pros get Ivy Bridge, thunderbolt and usb3.

Lineup:
11"-13 MacBook Air
13" black/white MacBook
14"-16"-18" Macbook Pro

Differences?
Price:
The MBA prices drop 100$.
MB and MBP keep their current price.

Form Factors:
MBA, probably the same design as now.
MB, a little thinner overall, without the optical drive and hdd, which will be replaced by a discrete gpu and an ssd.
MBP, new design, thinner, lighter, without optical drive.

Solid-State Drives on every model!

"But a 18" workstation without storage space??" But of course! The 18" and maybe the 16" too will come with both SSD and HDD inside.

That's my bet. I believe the 14-16-18 will be better for a pro line of macs. It will more differentiate the pro from the air and the MacBook.

The lineup is going to be this:

13" MB - $999 starting price
11" MBA - $999 starting price
13" MBA - $1299 starting price
13" MBA Black Edition - $1599 starting price
15" MBP - $1599 starting price
17" MBP - $2299 starting price

All Mac portables will lose the optical drive except for the MacBook. Apple is pushing towards internet media, and that is where Apple sees its future. An Apple optical drive will be a $99 option.

The MacBook will stay the same aethetically, perhaps a small change here and there. The big change is in the inside. It will get AMD Llano. Core 2 Duo CPU Performance, ATI Radeon 5650M HD GPU Performance, Sandy Bridge battery life.

The MacBook Pros will get thinner and lighter, but not to the point where they are 15 and 17 inch Airs.

All Macs except for PERHAPS the MacBook will get Thunderbolt, the MacBook if it goes to AMD can still very well get Thunderbolt, but 95% of consumers don't benefit from Thunderbolt.

The MacBook Air Black Edition will be just like the BlackBook. It will basically just be a high end MacBook Air with a black color to it.

13 inch Macbook pro needs to get out of apple's product line. 13 inch Macbook should stay because it is still the cheapest macbook out there for 13 inch laptop.

15 inch needs to have a price drop... Base price at 1999 dollars is just plain ridiculous.

Every apple laptop nice should have SSD standard. Apple also needs to move into 8GB ram on high end models like 15 and 17 inch MBP.

11 inch MBA should stay at 2GB ram and 13 inch should go into 4GB ram standard on every single MBA and MB.

2012 MBP should only focus on 15 inch and 17 inch...

hcho3 said:

13 inch Macbook pro needs to get out of apple's product line. 13 inch Macbook should stay because it is still the cheapest macbook out there for 13 inch laptop.

15 inch needs to have a price drop... Base price at 1999 dollars is just plain ridiculous.

Every apple laptop nice should have SSD standard. Apple also needs to move into 8GB ram on high end models like 15 and 17 inch MBP.

11 inch MBA should stay at 2GB ram and 13 inch should go into 4GB ram standard on every single MBA and MB.

2012 MBP should only focus on 15 inch and 17 inch...

Click to expand...

Base price is not $1999, it's $1799.

TSE said:

The lineup is going to be this:

13" MB - $999 starting price
11" MBA - $999 starting price
13" MBA - $1299 starting price
13" MBA Black Edition - $1599 starting price
15" MBP - $1599 starting price
17" MBP - $2299 starting price

All Mac portables will lose the optical drive except for the MacBook. Apple is pushing towards internet media, and that is where Apple sees its future. An Apple optical drive will be a $99 option.

The MacBook will stay the same aethetically, perhaps a small change here and there. The big change is in the inside. It will get AMD Llano. Core 2 Duo CPU Performance, ATI Radeon 5650M HD GPU Performance, Sandy Bridge battery life.

The MacBook Pros will get thinner and lighter, but not to the point where they are 15 and 17 inch Airs.

All Macs except for PERHAPS the MacBook will get Thunderbolt, the MacBook if it goes to AMD can still very well get Thunderbolt, but 95% of consumers don't benefit from Thunderbolt.

The MacBook Air Black Edition will be just like the BlackBook. It will basically just be a high end MacBook Air with a black color to it.

Click to expand...

lol no.

Well I'm very new the MBP world, but last night I met one of my former coworkers who works in the iPhone division (RF Engineer) at Apple.

Aside from the fact that he hinted strongly that Verizon's iPhone 5 will have LTE (we're both RF guys so that's what we talk about), he also hinted that Apple wants to phase out mechanical hard drives across all portable machines.

Basically Apple's principle is that all devices must be responsive as well as having the best screens.

He doesn't know much about the MBP division, he was just able to tell me general directions Apple wants to go with their entire product line. He said IVY Bridge & USB 3.0 was a given as well and there's a strong possibility of a 1080p screen on the 15" models, possibly higher resolution across the MBP lines, because this is something Apple employees feel they're lagging behind in.

He also said next years MPBs will feature improved screens (possible IPS? who knows) as well as slightly changed bodies (he's seen mockups that look more Macbook air styled).

In summary he hinted at the following things for the 2012 Models.

• Possibly no more Harddrives (SSD FTW!)
• IvyBridge + USB 3.0
• Higher Resolutions across all Models.
• Better Screens
• New Body (Macbook Air inspired)

Based on Apple's current pricing (I can only assume) I believe the Models will be sold as follows:


MBP - 13"

• $1199 - Dual Core Ivy Bridge Integrated GPU + Optional 1440 x 900 Screen + 128GB SSD
• $1499 - 13" Quadcore (or higher clocked Dualcore) Ivy Bridge + Dedicated GPU + 128GB SSD

MBP - 15"

• $1799 - QuadCore Ivy Bridge + Dedicated GPU + Standard 1680 x 1050 Optional 1920 x 1200 Screen + 128GB SSD
• $2199 - QuadCore Ivy Bridge + Faster Dedicated GPU + 256GB SSD + Same screen options as above.

MBP - 17"

• $2499 - QuadCore Ivy Bridge + Fastest Dedicated GPU + 256GB SSD + 1920 x 1200

prochembro said:

Well I'm very new the MBP world, but last night I met one of my former coworkers who works in the iPhone division (RF Engineer) at Apple.

Aside from the fact that he hinted strongly that Verizon's iPhone 5 will have LTE (we're both RF guys so that's what we talk about), he also hinted that Apple wants to phase out mechanical hard drives across all portable machines.

Basically Apple's principle is that all devices must be responsive as well as having the best screens.

He doesn't know much about the MBP division, he was just able to tell me general directions Apple wants to go with their entire product line. He said IVY Bridge & USB 3.0 was a given as well and there's a strong possibility of a 1080p screen on the 15" models, possibly higher resolution across the MBP lines, because this is something Apple employees feel they're lagging behind in.

He also said next years MPBs will feature improved screens (possible IPS? who knows) as well as slightly changed bodies (he's seen mockups that look more Macbook air styled).

In summary he hinted at the following things for the 2012 Models.

• Possibly no more Harddrives (SSD FTW!)
• IvyBridge + USB 3.0
• Higher Resolutions across all Models.
• Better Screens
• New Body (Macbook Air inspired)

Based on Apple's current pricing (I can only assume) I believe the Models will be sold as follows:


MBP - 13"

• $1199 - Dual Core Ivy Bridge Integrated GPU + Optional 1440 x 900 Screen + 128GB SSD
• $1499 - 13" Quadcore (or higher clocked Dualcore) Ivy Bridge + Dedicated GPU + 128GB SSD

MBP - 15"

• $1799 - QuadCore Ivy Bridge + Dedicated GPU + Standard 1680 x 1050 Optional 1920 x 1200 Screen + 128GB SSD
• $2199 - QuadCore Ivy Bridge + Faster Dedicated GPU + 256GB SSD + Same screen options as above.

MBP - 17"

• $2499 - QuadCore Ivy Bridge + Fastest Dedicated GPU + 256GB SSD + 1920 x 1200

Click to expand...

that would be PERFECT! if only they remove the odd too...

beosound3200 said:

that would be PERFECT! if only they remove the odd too...

Click to expand...

sounds like a rumor to me! and a juicy one. but, it doesn't make sense. they (especially the 13") sound like great big airs. i guess we'll have to wait and see. personally, i think the improved displays are a given. beyond that, i think apple is going to have a difficult time selling people on the idea of tiny memories (only ssd).

by the way, i was in a computer store today and when i walked by the macs i decided to take a look at the airs and realized i was looking at a 13" mbp--the same computer i own! lol. it looks so tiny, especially next to the 17". i love the body, and i don't see any need for a redesign myself. i don't think they can make it much smaller and still be able to fit in the hot processors + hdd.

palpatine said:

sounds like a rumor to me! and a juicy one. but, it doesn't make sense. they (especially the 13") sound like great big airs. i guess we'll have to wait and see. personally, i think the improved displays are a given. beyond that, i think apple is going to have a difficult time selling people on the idea of tiny memories (only ssd).

by the way, i was in a computer store today and when i walked by the macs i decided to take a look at the airs and realized i was looking at a 13" mbp--the same computer i own! lol. it looks so tiny, especially next to the 17". i love the body, and i don't see any need for a redesign myself. i don't think they can make it much smaller and still be able to fit in the hot processors + hdd.

Click to expand...

i doubt theyll make big changes to the body, only small cosmetic ones and maybe to improve cooling and sturdiness, i dont think theyll get much thinner than they are now

who knows, maybe apple gets good deals on ssds and we get them cheaper than they are now, maybe youll get 256 gb ssd in 17'' standard and 512 for 300 bucks, that would be great

but i dont understand ivy bridge, they say its gonna need 50% less power, but only for low power chips or across the line?

Apple needs to keep the current design as I don't see a reason to change it. They should add another usb drive, upgrade to a better display remove the optical drive, add another audio port on the 13" and they all should come with SSD drives.

scupking said:

Apple needs to keep the current design as I don't see a reason to change it. They should add another usb drive, upgrade to a better display remove the optical drive, add another audio port on the 13" and they all should come with SSD drives.

Click to expand...

well i see a reason, a possibility to be better? shouldnt that be enough?